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Stranger in a Strange Land  By  cover art

Stranger in a Strange Land

By: Robert A. Heinlein
Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
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Publisher's summary

Stranger in a Strange Land is the epic saga of an earthling, Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with “psi” powers—telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, teleportation, pyrolysis, and the ability to take control of the minds of others—and complete innocence regarding the mores of man.

After his tutelage under a surrogate father figure, Valentine begins his transformation into a kind of messiah. His exceptional abilities lead him to become many things to many people: freak, scam artist, media commodity, searcher, free love pioneer, neon evangelist, and martyr.

Heinlein won his second Hugo Award for this novel, sometimes called his “divine comedy” and often called his masterpiece. This Blackstone audiobook is the “as published” version, read from an Ace paperback published in 1987. The full, uncut text was not made available until 1991.

©1961 by Robert A. Heinlein (P)1996 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

  • Hugo Award, 1962

Featured Article: The Most Stellar Sci-Fi Authors of All Time


Science fiction is a genre as diverse as you can imagine. There are stories that take place in deep space, often depicting teams exploring or running away from something; stories that focus on life at the most cellular level, such as a pandemic tale; and stories that take place in times that feel similar to our own. Depicting themes of existentialism, philosophy, hubris, and personal and historical trauma, sci-fi has a cadre of topics and moods.

What listeners say about Stranger in a Strange Land

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent!

You’ll be hooked into after the first chapter. Michael Valentine Smith, the man from Mars, learns how to adapt to his new life on Earth. This book is FASCINATING!

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This book is not unabridged

It's a wonderful amazing story but this version is so heavily edited entire segments are missing I'd be much happier with this purchase if it didn't claim to be unedited but it's Pretty Abridged

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An ending I didn't see coming!

Stranger in a Strange Land was recommended to me by an acquaintance 12 years ago. I only just recently got a chance to read it. I can see why Heinlein said the world wouldn't be ready to read it back in the 40's when he initially had the idea for this book. What an amazing book to make you see outside the box. Jubal is my new hero lol I wish I had his backbone lol

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Paradigm Shifting

This book offers a lot to reflect and reconsider when thinking of personal and social ideologies. I roccomend reading or listening.

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Strange is the operative word, but very well read

Heinlein is flight of fantasy. A vehicle for his philosophy and social commentary. Interesting take on life in the 60's.

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Spectacular performance!

SIASL is a classic tale that really comes to life due to the performance of the Reader. Its like an old timey radio program.

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Great Story, Absolutely fantastic delivery

Christopher Hurt did an amazing job in his reading. The characters had such a lively personality, especially his narration of Jubal Harshaw. I found myself laughing repeatedly at the his rendition of Jubal... it was so much fun listening to this book.

Definitely in my top 3 favorite narrators I have heard on Audible.

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Dated, but quite progressive for when it was written

Whenever reading science fiction/ fantasy you need to place yourself in the time of the author to appreciate the story. The placement of the women as equals and brothers in the new religion was very progressive for the time.

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I GROCK

Surely offensive to less open minded readers. Great story! 4 stars because it’s greatness has been surpassed by many authors since 1961, but, Heinlein never disappoints. Enjoy for yourself!

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Entertaining Story

One of Heinlein’s best. It is a dialogue driven book, as opposed to a narrative, lends itself to an audiobook format. I read this book many years ago and it’s still a worthwhile read or listen for younger sci-fi enthusiasts.

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